Lasting shoes



Aug. 2 8, 1945. i |91. cuczzo LAs'rING sHpEs originan Fi1ed sept. 3,1941 s sums-sheet 1- Aug. 28, 1945. M. cuozz LAsTING sHoEs OriginalFiled Sept. 3, 1941" -3 Shets-Sheet 2 Aug. 28, 1945. M. cuozzo 2,383,712

` LASTING SHOES Original Filed Sept. 3, 1941 v 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 PatentedAug. 28, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT Fries 3 Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement in lasting shoes, and has forits principal object the provision of means for lasting the two shoes ofa pair concomitantly in a single operationt this application being adivision of th'e application upon which Patent No. 2,344,503 was grantedon March 21, 1944.

Heretofore it has been the universal practice, so far as it is known, tolast the two shoes of a pair independently. Thus there was no certaintythat both'shoes of a pair would be subjected to the same lasting stressand would have the same 'appearance when finished or would Wear equallywell. methods, so far as factory production is concerned, ordinarilyrequire expensive machinery and highly skilled'o-perators. Among theadvantages of the present invention are the reduction in the timeconsumed in lasting a pair of sh'oes; the provision of a very simplemethod which can be performed, for example, by relatively inexpensivemachinery and vby 'relatively unskilled operatives; the assurance thatboth shoes of a pair will be subjected to the same lasting stress andwill thus have substantially the same appear ance when completed andwill Wear substantially equally; and further a saving in upper leathersince the usual lasting margin may be substantially reduced. Other andfurther objects and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing more detailed description and by reference to the accompanyingdrawingsin which:

Fig. lis a plan View'of two superposed complete uppers of a pair ofsh'oes which have been united at the Vamps in accordance with thisinvention;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the uppers of Fig. 1 turned insideout;

Fig. 3 is a view in sideelevation, with parts broken away, of the uppersof Figs. 1 and 2 assembled with the insoles upon a pair of lasts.

Fig. 4 is a cross-section taken along'the line 4 4 in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 illustrates in perspective the uppers, insoles and lasts mountedin a machine by which th'e Vamps of the uppers are pulled over andattached to theinsoles;. u l

Fig. 6 is a. longitudinal section through the machine of Fig. 5, one ofthe lasts with its insole and upper being removed;

Fig. '7 is a view -in side elevation of a machine by which the quartersand shanks of a pair of shoes are pulled over and attached to theinsole's;

Fig. 8 is an'enlargedplan view of the wiping element of such machine;

Moreover, the usual lasting Fig. 9 is a perspectiveview civ a Welt whichmay be assembled with the shoes; y.

10 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showingsuch y welt assembled with theuppers;

Fig. 11 is a plan view of two superposed Vamps formed intoaunit;

Fig. 12 is a side elevational view of apair of lasts carrying insoleswith th'e vamp unit of Fig. 11 attached thereto; f

Fig, 13 illustrates two. quartersv joined. into a unit along the lastingmargin; Fig. 14 is a side elevational View of a pair of lasts carryinginsoles with the quarter unit of 13 attached thereto; Y

Fig. 15 illustrates a vamp unit consisting of two tongues connected bystraps; and

Fig. 16 is a sideelevational view of a vpair of lasts carrying insoleswith the straps of the unit of Fig. 15 attached thereto. i

The application of the invention tothemanufacture of shoes having fulluppers will now be described with particular reference toxlj'igs.` 1 to8, inclusive, of the drawings. Y

A pair of complete uppers 2B provided with` elastic box toe linings 2l(onlyone shown) is laid face to face with the outer'surfaces in contactand united at the edges by a .row of stitches 22along the lastingmargins. The united right and left uppers are then turned to expose theouter surfaces, and the heel counters applied in the usualmanner to theclosed heels. Lasts 25 to which insoles 26 are tacked or otherwisesecured, are then inserted into vthe uppers, as shown in Figs. 3 and4.Prior tothe insertion of thel lasts, the insoles 2li are treated alongthe bottom edges with a. suitable adhesive such as pyroxylin or liquidplastic cement or thermoplastic. cement. When `pyroxylin cement isemployed, it is activated by anl acetone solution before the lasts areinserted. Ifa thermoplastic cement is employed, it is activated by heatat a later stage in the process.

The pulling over of the uppers is preferably though not necessarilyperformed by th'er use of an appropriate machine. The numeralk 30 (Fig.5) designates a very simple mechanism for the purpose. The pulling overin the machine 30 is performed by a looped constrictingstrand 3| of wireor suitable strong and `flexible material. The united uppers on theirrespective lasts are so presented to the machine th'atA the loop portionof the strand seats in the V-groove 32 at the junction of the uppers.The machine all here shown comprises a pair of tables 33 spaced apart,legs 34 on which the tables 33 rest, and a shaft 35 to which the ends ofthe strand 3| are secured. Fixed to the adjacent edges of the tables 33are journal bearings 35 which receive the ends of shafts 31 carryingpulleys or grooved rollers 38 over which the strand 3| is guided. Thesepulleys 38 are arranged to cause the crossing point of the strand to belocated at the desired point relative to th'e shoe and, to accommodateshoes of different sizes, the shafts 31 may be mounted in adjustablebearings if desired. The shaft 35 is rotatably supported in journalbearings 48 mounted on two of the legs 34 and carries at one end a disk4| provided with a handle 42 and at the other end a ratchetv 43. Thelasts carrying the uppers 20 are supported on the tables 33 with thestrand 3| in the space 32 (see Fig. 5). the ball portions of the Vamps(Fig. 6) so that, when the shaft is rotated in one direction(counterclockwise in Fig. 5), the strand is tightcned and constrictedabout the united margins of the uppers, whereby the uppers are pulledover the lasts and the margins are drawn or wiped into contact with theadhesive bearing surfaces of the insoles 26. of the legs 34, engages theratchet 43 and thus holds the strand 3| tightened until the margins ofthe uppers have adhered firmly to insoles 26. In order to wipe themargins `over the insoles at the shank, spools 39 of rubber or similarmaterial are slipped along the Strand so that when the strand istightened, the spools 39 will be located as in Figs. 5 and 6.

The two lasts 25, carrying the uppers 20 thus attached to the insoles26, are then mounted in a machine 45 by which the heel seats and Shanksof the uppers are pulled over and attached to the insole and the lastingof both shoes completed. The machine` 45 comprises a post 46 on whichare supported a pair of arms 41 and 48 and a wiping device 49'. Thedevice 49 comprises a pair of wipers 50 which may be solid rubber orinflatable bags, pivotally supported at one end upon a sleeve 5| throughwhich the post 46 passes. The wipers 45|) are yieldably held in contactwith each other as by a bolt 52 passed through both wipers 5U, a coilspring 53 and a crank 54 threaded on one end of the bolt 52, the otherend being fixed in one wiper 56. The tension of th'e spring 53 betweentheY crank 54 and the other wiper 50 is regulated by the crank 54 sothat the wipers are yieldably advanced toward each other to pull overthe margins of the heel seats and shanks and wipe them against theadhesive coated surfaces of the insole 26. The lasts 25 are held in themachine 45 by the arms 41 and 48 between which the lasts are positionedas shown in Fig. '7. The arm 41 rests upon a collar 55 fixed on the post46. The arm 48 carries a pinion 56 which meshes with a rack51 on thepost and which is rotated by a crank 58 to resist separation of thelasts during the wiping operation. The sleeve 5| is yieldably held inposition on the post 46 by springs 59-and collars 66 so that the wipersengage both' uppers.

' rlvhe lasted uppers and insoles are at this stage joined to form twocompletely lasted shoes still connected at the forepart. The connectionat the forepart is now severed, preferably by a knife at thespace32,'and the making of the shoes is completed separately in any wellknown manner.

If it be desired that the finished sh'oes be provided with welts, aV-shaped` strip is inserted in the space 32 before pulling over theforeparts of the uppers in the machine 30 (see Figs. 9 and A pawl 44,carried by one The strand 3| crosses just below 10). The contactingsurfaces of the strip 65 and the uppers 20 are joined by a suitableadhesive. The strand 3| seats the strip 65 in position when the pullingover of the foreparts previously described starts. Those surfaces of theupper which contact with the strip 65 are preferably roughened beforeadhesive is applied.

This invention is applicable tothe manufacture of sculs and other shoeshaving an upper consisting of a vamp alone or in combination with aseparate quarter. As shown in Figs. 1l and l2, two Vamps 10 aresuperimposed with the outer surfaces in contact and joined by a line ofstitching 1| along the inner edges of the lasting margins. The Vamps 10are then turned and lasts 155 carrying insoles 16 inserted. A strand 11,similar to the strand 3| previously described, is employed to pull overthe margins of the Vamps and attach them to the outer surfaces of .theinsoles which have previously been provided with adhesive coatings. TheVamps 10 are separated and the shoes completed independently.

If shoes having separate Vamps and quarters are desired, the quarters8|] are prepared as shown in Figs. 13 and 14. The quarters 80 are joinedwith the outer surfaces in contact by aline of stitching 8| along theedges of the lasting margins and wrapped around lasts to which have beenattached the insoles 16 `carrying the Vamps 18. The lasts 85 may betruncated, the foreparts being removed so that the toe portions of theinsoles 16 with the Vamps 1|) are free. The insoles and quarters arelassembled on the lasts and secured by tacks orthe like in the wellknown manner. A strand 81 is employed to pull over the margins of thequarters 80 and-attach them to the insoles in the same manner as are thevamps 10 treated. The quarters 80 are then severed and the shoessuitably completed independently. It will be understood, however, thatthisoperation may be reversed and the insoles 16 secured to the quartersbefore assembly with the lasts '15 or that the quarters may be attachedto insoles carrying uppers of other types than thatdescribed or carryingno uppers whatsoever.

This invention is also applicable to the lasting of shoes, e. g.,sandals whose forepart uppers each comprises a tongue and a plurality ofstraps connecting the tongue with the insole. Hereto fore the strapshave been inlasted and secured separately to the insoleswh;ich hasrequired the expenditure of considerable time and lalbor and much skillin order to provide equal stretch of the several straps. Figs. 15 and 16illustrate one wayl of employing this invention in lasting shoes of thistype. Twotongues 95 are joined by. a plurality of straps 9| to form apocket, the straps varying in length as required by the nished shoes.Lasts 95 provided with insoles 86 arev inserted into the pocket thusformed, with the tongues resting on the cones of the lasts. The straps9|, which as shown in Fig. 16 extend over the toes of 'both lasts, arepulled over the insoles 96 and secured thereto by a strand 91 in themanner previously described. The portions of the straps thus broughtinto `contact with the insoles 96 are secured thereto by adhesive orother means in the .Well` known manner. The straps are severed, alongthe line Itaken by the strand 91., and the shoes completed independentlyin the manner desired.

From the preceding description, it will be noted that the essence ofthis invention resides in the simultaneous lasting of a pair of shoes.Several the insoles and severing the unit between the insole attachedportions thereof. The pulling over and attachingof this unit aredescribed as performed by a constricting strand of wire or any otherstrong `and eXible material suitalble for the purpose actuated 'by amechanical means, but ob- Y viously means other than constrictivestrands, for instance, suitably actuated Wiper-plates or the like, mightbe employed, and the strands or other devices may be actuated manually.Moreover, when making shoes having full uppers, the foreparts of theshoes are irst lasted, and then the quarters and shanks aresimultaneously lasted before the foreparts of the two shoes areseparated.

While several embodiments of the invention have been shown and-described in detail, it will be understood that the invention is notlimited thereto and that other embodiments thereof may be made without`departing from the spirit and scope of the `invention as set forth inthe following claims.

I claim:

l. A machine for simultaneously pulling over the quarters and Shanks ofa pair of lasted shoes, the varnps of which shoes form a unit into whichthe toes of the lasts and the shoe insoles are inserted, comprising apair of arms which engage the lasts and hold them in position and awiping device which simultaneously engages the entire lasting margins ofthe quarters' and Shanks of both shoes.

2. A machine for simultaneously pulling over the quarters and Shanks ofa pair of lasted shoes, the Vamps of which shoes form a unit into whichthe toes of the lasts and the shoe insoles are inserted, comprising apair of arms which engage the lasts yand hold them in position and awiping device which simultaneously engages the entireV y lasting marginsof the quarters and Shanks of j both Shoes, said device comprising apair of wipers, each pivotally mounted at one end and formed to engageone-half the lasting margins of the quarters and Shanks of both shoes,andl means for yieldalbly advancing the wipersrtoward each other.

3. Amachine for simultaneously pulling over the quarters and Shanks of apair of lasted Shoes,

the Vamps of Whichshoes form a unit into which the toes of the lasts andthe shoe insoles are inserted, comprising a pair of arms which engagevthelasts and hold them in position and a wiping device whichsimultaneously engages the entire lasting margins of the quarters andshanks of both Shoes, said device comprising a pair of wipers, eachpivotally mounted at'one end and formed to engageonehalf of the lastingmargins of the

